Confederates to the Bloody End: The Origins and Evolution of a Distinct
Southern Identity

Anne Sarah Rubin provides readers with a well-researched and insightful account
of Confederate nationalism that emerged and developed during the course of the
Civil War and of the role that this newly formed nationalistic spirit played
in shaping a distinctive southern identity during the years of Reconstruction.
In an attempt to explain exactly what it meant to be a Confederate in the 1860s,
Rubin examines the ideological origins of the Confederacy through the experiences
and ideas of the men, women, and children who considered themselves loyal supporters
of the Confederate States of America. Suggesting that this population of white
Southerners dominated the political, social and ideological discourse of their
nation during the 1860s, the author excludes Unionists and African Americans
from her analysis of Confederate nationalism and identity. Drawing on the private
and public correspondence of white Southerners, Rubin effectively moves beyond
the traditional political and military perspective of nationalism and focuses
upon the southern people's emotional and philosophical attachment to the Confederacy.
By doing so, she reveals how white Southerners doggedly maintained their nationalistic
spirit in the early years of Reconstruction (and well beyond) even though the
weight of the U.S. military had shattered the Confederate nation in mid-1865.
Rubin contends that the southern white's adherence to Confederate nationalism
provided them with an ideological framework that eventually allowed the Redeemers
to regain control of southern society and politics during Reconstruction. In
essence, Confederate nationalism contributed to the ultimate failure of Federal
reconstruction policies.

The first four chapters of Rubin's book are devoted to examining the complex
and multifaceted ways that the southern people defined nationalism between 1861
and 1865. Using personal diaries, newspaper and journal articles, literary works,
sermons, and a variety of other printed materials, the author illustrates how
Southerners used diverse ideals to foster a patriotic fervor for their newly
formed country. Rubin effectively argues that Confederates used the memory of
the American Revolution to give meaning and credibility to their self-proclaimed
war against northern aggression.
Southerners repeatedly compared their leaders to Revolutionary War heroes and
identified themselves as guardians of Revolutionary principles. By defining
the war as an attempt "to recreate the glory of the Founders' nation,"
Confederates successfully avoided focusing on the real cause of the conflict--slavery
(p. 15). Thus, white Southerners created a nationalistic spirit that appealed
to both the slaveholder and non-slaveholder alike.

The author also reveals that Confederates used Christian morality to bolster
their sense of nationalism. Believing that they were God's chosen people, Southerners
believed that the results of military engagements had divine meanings: battlefield
victories were signs that God favored their cause, while military defeats were
indications of God's wrath against the southern people's lack of faith and piety.
As the war progressed, military defeats and political turmoil challenged the
noble ideals that Confederates used to forge their national identity. As the
future of the Confederacy grew dim, many Southerners became unwilling to put
national interest before their own self-interest, a fact that undermined conscription,
prompted men and women to question South's ability to win the war, and prompted
soldiers on the frontlines to abandon their posts. However, Rubin contends that
even though Confederate men and women "could not always live up to the
patriotic demands of sacrifice and devotion to the cause," they "still
wished they could do better and be better. They tried to convince themselves
and each other to live up to their ideals, even as they failed to do so"
(pp. 64-65).

One of the most demoralizing situations confronting Confederate nationals was
taking the oath of allegiance to the United States. Citizens living in areas
occupied by Union troops and Confederate prisoners of war had little choice
but to comply with the wishes of their conquerors. According to Rubin, Confederates
took the oath because
of pragmatic reasons and not as a result of waning nationalism. Another example
of southern pragmatism was witnessed in the debate over enlisting slaves in
the southern army. Even though it would have undoubtedly led to the end of slavery
as it existed in the antebellum period, many devout nationalists were willing
to arm the slaves during the final days of the war, illustrating their desire
to win the war at all costs and their deep commitment to southern nationalism.

The last three chapters of Rubin's study examine how Southerners forged a new
identity from the ashes of Confederate nationalism during the early years of
Reconstruction. Following the war, the author reveals that the "shock of
defeat wore into a sense of angry resignation" as the southern people concerned
themselves with the "rebuilding of their lives." Most white Southerners
"realized that economic and social control, especially of the freedmen,
could best be found by rejoining the Union," but they "self-consciously
held onto aspects of their Confederate past, in the
process transforming Southern identity" (p. 141). The region's newly formed
identity was founded on the old southern principles of white supremacy and the
belief that white Southerners were the "true victims of Reconstruction"
(pp. 141-143). As a result, southern whites engaged in an ongoing political
war with the Federal government for control of local and state politics, a crusade
that Southerners successfully waged for the next one hundred years.

Rubin offers readers a compelling account of Confederate nationalism, but her
overall conception of southern devotion to the Confederacy is problematic. By
concentrating the study on the writings of white Southerners who supported the
Confederacy, the author provides a one-dimensional perspective of southern nationalism.
Even though this book is well researched, it still only reflects the views of
a minority of white Southerners between the years of 1861 and 1868. Readers
will undoubtedly question the extent of Confederate nationalism among the diverse
populace of
the South. While Rubin reveals that southern identity was a "kaleidoscope
of gray," various shapes of that kaleidoscope still demand further examination.
Also problematic is the idea that southern nationalism materialized quickly
during the early days of the Civil War. The author's thesis is too dismissive
of southern ideology that existed in the decades prior to the outbreak of the
war. A closer examination of how pre-war sectionalism contributed to southern
nationalism is still needed. Nevertheless, these criticisms do not outweigh
the overall merit of this study. Rubin has
provided scholars with a laudable account of Confederate nationalism. More importantly,
the author reveals that the Civil War did not end in 1865, but instead took
new form. Serious students of southern history will want to add this book to
their shelf.

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